How to learn from your competitors
A little competition never hurt anyone, and when it comes to business we tend to think about our competitors as a threat when in truth there is quite a bit we can learn from them, especially those who excel within your market. Learning more about your competitors will aid you in setting your business apart.
Let us have a look at a few ways your competitors could teach you something.
Reviews offer us insight into customer behaviour.
A great way to learn more about your ideal customers would be to read your competitors’ online reviews. Reading reviews is not about finding dirt on your competition. Instead lookup the positive reviews that offer you a glimpse at what clients find appealing about your competitors. Oftentimes clients would include key phrases as to what they found satisfactory about the services or products your competitors offered for instance, speedy service or knowledgeable staff. This is free information on your competitors that could give you insight into your clients and perhaps qualities to implement in your own business.
Reviews will also show you how your competitors deal with negative feedback, a lot can be learned about a company’s culture by looking at how they handle negative feedback. Take ques from your competitors on how they manage losses and handle their success. Look at the way they address negative reviews, oftentimes it will show you how to professionally reassure disappointed clients online.
Learn more about what attracts audience engagement on social media.
When researching your competitor’s online content and profiles, be cautious to not fall into the comparison trap the aim is not to compare the number of followers or likes they have but instead to learn more about what attracts your target audience. By no means should you plagiarise the content of your competitors as this will only give customers the idea that your business is subpar and not authentic. Instead, look at what type of content clients engaged with or didn’t to effectively engage your online clients.
Looking at your competitor’s online accounts will also motivate you to keep posting valuable content and to engage with your clients regularly. Plagiarism is a big no-no, but nobody said you are not allowed to learn from them. Look at how quickly your competitors respond to clients on social media this is something you can implement in your customer service strategy.
Look at the competitions google ranking
We all know just how important standing out from the crowd is when it comes to business. Let’s say your website is not performing so well in google search, you will lose out to actively looking clients when your competitors rank higher than your business in the organic search results.
Make a list of relevant keywords relevant to your industry and have a look at the highest-ranking websites search engines offer in the organic search results when researching these topics. Then look at the content available on your competitor’s websites and strategically better your content to improve your search results. This will greatly aid you in your search engine optimisation journey to ensure you get a better ranking. Again, it’s not about plagiarising their content but about bettering your own.
Find ways to improve on your service or product
Compare your product or services with that of your competition. If possible, order something from your competitors to go through the buyer’s journey, this way you will get first-hand experience of what clients receive and experience when dealing with your competitors.
The main aim of comparing products or services is to look for improvements. Be brutally honest with yourself and ask others to give input as well when comparing products. Look for ways you would improve upon the products of your competitors and adjust your products or services accordingly to give yourself the needed edge. This is a great way to position yourself in the market with a superior product or service.
Join forums or industry-related groups
Joining a group has numerous benefits, one of them being free advice from others within your field. Oftentimes your competitors will struggle with the same challenges so be on the lookout for group discussions about some of the challenges you might face. This is a great way to learn more about your industry as well.
Feel free to also join the discussion and ask others for input or advice whenever you need it. From asking for reputable suppliers or how to handle client situations, you might just be surprised how freely your competitors are willing to share valuable information.
So be ready to learn from your competitors, take every bit of information to better your business and who knows tomorrow others might consider your business the industry expert and will come knocking for information at your door.
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